Workflow Tracking in Workflow Tracking in Millennium and ExcelMillennium and Excel

Les Lynam, Director of Technical Les Lynam, Director of Technical Services, Kirkpatrick Library, Services, Kirkpatrick Library,

Central Missouri State UniversityCentral Missouri State University

OverviewOverview

• The Question: “can it be better?”• What’s wrong with the “old way”?• Big Truck / Little Truck (red truck…)• Putting the like things together• But where is that book RIGHT NOW?• Tech Services as PROCESS• Tool One: Millennium records• Tool Two: Excel spreadsheet

Overview continuedOverview continued

• Wrap-up

• Questions?

““can it be better?”can it be better?”

• Philosophy…personal ambition

• Ideas from Production Management class

• Change… not everyone likes it

• Involving those “in the trenches”

• Presenting the big picture

• Present evidence that the “new way” has improved the process

What’s wrong with the Old Way?What’s wrong with the Old Way?

• Nothing

• But is it the BEST way?

• Question: Have OTHER factors changed?

• Do those changes effect THIS process?

• Does anyone remember WHY we did it this way?

Big Truck / Little TruckBig Truck / Little Truck

• Card catalogue days and the BIG truck

• No one had access until the cards were filed, so batches were fine

• Records online changed when end users found out about books

• Requests for “on order” and “in process”

• Large truck, first book ready a week before last book?

Big Truck / Little Truck

BIGGER (double sided) Truck

Little Truck factorsLittle Truck factors

• Fewer books to catalogue

• And process at a time

• First book on truck catalogued same day as the last one

• Laser labels pointed to “21” or “28”

Putting Like things togetherPutting Like things together

• Small truck, same processes

• All Vista-Foiling together

• Reference Books together

• Level of cataloguing together? (DLC?)

• Half sheet of spine labels per truck

But where is it RIGHT NOW?But where is it RIGHT NOW?

• The call for a particular book

• Has it been received?

• Is it on the shelf waiting to be catalogued?

• Is it in a cataloguers office?

• Was it sent to circulation this morning, and just not shelved yet?

• All of these were possible and searches could take hours

Evolution of a Truck NumberEvolution of a Truck Number

• Online records had note fields

• Some were INTERNAL notes

• Labeling a truck with a number, and putting that number on the online record, it just MIGHT work

• Where is it now? On Truck 06Circ12H. But where is that TRUCK?

• The shorter search, but still a search

Tech Services as PROCESSTech Services as PROCESS

• Moving books through Acquisitions, Cataloguing, and physical processing

• It’s a type of assembly line

• Several people “add value”

• The “Team” approach educates others about how an individual adds value

• Better “hand-offs” mean quicker turn arounds

Tool One: Millennium recordsTool One: Millennium records

• Truck number on order record notes• And brief bibs, if internal cataloguing• Create lists: pulling the truck together by

the note• Same list, printing the spine labels• Same list, adding the barcodes• Same list, checking the finished product• Same list, changing the item status

Tool Two: Excel SpreadsheetTool Two: Excel Spreadsheet

• Entry created as new truck is being formed• Pre-cataloguing: filling the truck• Cataloguing• Physical processing• Each step recorded with date in

spreadsheet• Location of any record found in seconds• Statistics available from spreadsheet data

Screen ShotsScreen Shots

• Sample Truck “Task” Sheet

• Some samples from Millennium

• Some samples of Excel sheets

Each truck has a “task”

sheet that follows it

until completion

Date In and Out columns

Initials of person who performed the task

Truck note applied to Order Record

Again, note on the order record…

Click View

Note also put on Brief Bibs

500 Note on Brief Bibs

Create Lists brings the truck together

Search: Order Note

has “truckname”

The list of what’s on this truck

Verify that these same

titles are physically on

this truck

Close up of Item recordStatus is placed by

Rapid Update

Items grouped post-cat,

spine labels generated

from this list

Pre-Cat Tab

Truck arrival of 1st book

Shelved date when truck is

“full”

Date cataloguer has finished the

truck

Date spine labels are

printedPhysical processing (in yellow) done by student workers

Cat Tab

Completed Tab

Final Check and Released

dates

A few PhotosA few Photos

• Samples of the Truck Process

Trucks without Wheels

Close up of ONE truck

Zoom in on Truck Sheet

Finally, it’s got Wheels!

Wrap UpWrap Up

• Is it better?

• Is it worth the time and effort?

• Can it be improved even more?

• Questions?

• Thanks for attending!